‘Slenderman’ Stabbing Inspires HBO True Crime Documentary

In 2014, two young Wisconsin girls lured their friend to the middle of the woods, where they then stabbed her 19 times. The grisly crime story grew even darker when authorities questioned the girls for their motive behind the attempted killing (fortunately, their victim survived the attack). Appeasing the fictional boogeyman known as Slenderman, they said, was their main impetus. Killing their friend was meant as an offering of sorts: A blood sacrifice would guarantee the two girls Slenderman's protection and access to his mansion, where they hoped to live as his proxies, according to an extensive report from New York Magazine.

It’s a disturbing story on its own, but Slenderman’s creepy, fictitious origins — the legend was created by a user on the Something Awful forums back in 2009 -- along with the girls' young age (they were 12 when the crime took place) lends itself well to true-crime storytelling. HBO -- the network behind the riveting six-part documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst -- intends on capitalizing on the public's fascination with morbidity by airing a new documentary about the Slenderman stabbings.

Award-winning director Irene Taylor Brodsky is the mastermind behind Beware the Slenderman. The documentary aims to “explore not only the effect that Internet lore has on real-life actions, but also how the digital age is saturating the imagination and actions of children,” according to Indie Wire.

Beware the Slenderman is set to premiere at SXSW this coming Friday (March 11). Its HBO premiere date has yet to be announced.